To ensure cohesive teams and trusted business engagement despite being remote, we need to build authentic connections in the virtual office. Many a Valentine today in the digital age could probably be through an online cupid connection. Fewer outdoor ventures and more Insta scrolling means more relationships begin through social media and dating apps. With many of us working fully remote, we now meet new colleagues for the first time via a PC screen. We meet new clients and candidates on video calls. To ensure cohesive teams and trusted business engagement despite being remote, we need to build authentic connections in the virtual office. Online romances flourish while maintaining virtual courtships. So too, we must nurture and cement professional ties when working remotely. It remains critical that even when working from home, we cement and maintain professional ties. With online dating, profiles get perused, similar interests sought and so the virtual courtship begins. The assumed expectation – with what one can only but hope (and through countless chats, emojis & voice notes (VNs)) – would soon translate into a real-life romantic relationship. But similarly in the workspace of the “Webosphere”, how do we form and solidify co-worker bonds and relationships…
Office Christmas parties are underway. And what’s better than to celebrate with a team that makes you feel a home away from home. If you’re not feeling that fuzzy feeling of home at your current job, we are here to help. Let’s help you find your “work home”. It’s that jingle belly time of year again with Christmas almost upon us. ’Tis the season’ synonymous with spending time with family and loved ones and being surrounded by that warm fuzzy feeling of home. As many businesses wrap up, companies often treat their staff to an Office Christmas aka year end. Either a Soiree with glitz and glam. Or an intimate get-together to enjoy a braai or a relaxing lounge by the pool. Spending most of our lives at work, you eventually bond with your colleagues and become a “work family”. These staff parties can be equated to your “work Christmas” and your colleagues your “work family”. Some people even jokingly refer to their work bestie as a “work husband or work wife”. These terms have come about because we spend the majority of our lives at our jobs. You develop closeknit relationships because that’s the natural course of human nature…
Be it Rugby or Recruitment – being ethical ensures long-term successWritten by: Janis Kinnear After a nail-biting match, the 2023 Webb Ellis Trophy came home to South African soil. The victory is greatly attributed to SA Rugby Team Captain Siya Kolisi’s leadership. in the realms of Rugby or Recruitment, Kolisi exemplifies how being ethical ensures long-term success. South Africans continue to beam with pride after the SA Rugby Teams’ triumph having won this year’s World Cup trophy. Team Captain Siya Kolisi has been lauded for being an ethical leader who genuinely cares about his country’s people. The battle on the rugby field is refereed by strict rules of the game. If you opt to play dirty it can be costly (sorry All Blacks). Our national Rugby team tried to maintain fair play. And this display of sticking to the rules, plus their mad Rugby skills of course, proved that being ethical ensures long-term success and victory. When people are your business, you deal with the element of unpredictability. Practicing ethical recruitment helps avoid bulldozing tactics. It also presents a show of understanding. Particularly during the recruitment process when candidates or clients’ circumstances change at the drop of a hat. Here…
BEING NICE TO CO-WORKERS COUNTS WHEN JUMPING SHIPWritten by: Janis Kinnear When jumping ship to find a new job, you most likely need references – often from your existing company. your persona and actions towards coworkers may need some tweaking if you want to present exemplary attributes to a new potential boss. As a promising candidate enters the final stage of the recruitment process to land a new job and becomes the “Chosen One” – reference checks are done. And being nice to coworkers counts when jumping ship to ensure sterling references to seal the deal. Are you that colleague who’s constantly late for MS Teams meetings? Are you selective when it comes to responding to a colleague’s email? Prefer to go grab a bite to eat first before answering them on a work-related query. Do you neglect to inform your team when it becomes clearly obvious (to them included), that you’re not going to make the proposed deadline? Are you open to working with others or do you participate and show your reluctance by objecting to good ideas? Do you avoid your colleagues like the plague instead of engaging with them. Can you multitask or think critically? These actions fall into…
Datafin and EdTech company HyperionDev are set to enter a joint partnership To get Tech Grads more “industry ready”. And, not only get Grads struggling to find work a foot in the door but equipped with staying power to secure a job. The struggle to find work is realer than ever before. Despite Grads being fully qualified. They either can’t find a job or keep one. That’s why Datafin and HyperionDev have decided to enter a joint partnership to get Tech Grads more “industry ready”. This partnership aims to not only get Grads into the workforce, but secure and keep jobs. Grads come armed for what they believe will be success in the job market. Course Degree or Certificate. Check. CV drawn up. Check. And an ambition to join teams at the forefront of cutting-edge tech. Using code and science to make our lives easier by conjuring up the latest software and gadgets. But despite being prepped for what they hope will guarantee them a job, qualified Grads are still struggling to secure jobs. Even after an Internship – they are not always being kept on. Left back to a LinkedIn status of “Open to work”. Collaborative efforts between field…
Utilise your cv profile to not only get a “swipe right” and make a career love connection, but a job match made in heaven GETTING a “swipe right” on your CV in order to make a true career love connection, will fortunately for you, be based on more than just a great selfie with good lighting. One you managed to post on your dating profile to gain attention or to get that favourable “swipe right” like on popular dating app, Tinder. And, in the hunt for that “dream job”, your CV serves as the first visual glimpse into who you might be or present as. WhEN TRYING GET A “SWIPE RIGHT” ON YOUR cv PROFILE, YOUR jOB HISTORY MATTERS MORE – Unlike on your dating profile, it’s your job history compared to a picture of you, that gets your CV shortlisted. Even if an actual photograph of you is displayed on your CV, your work credentials matter more. More than whether you have the look of a possible unsuspecting “Tinder Swindler” or the appearance of having the personality of a pea. Similarly, as you would venture online to find a potential love interest, finding that job that is a good…
Over the last few years, we as a nation and world have been in survival mode. We have gone into overdrive to assess, adapt and act on instinct. Having been faced with very real-life threatening circumstances. Medical and financial hardships were felt by so many of the world’s population in something we only imagined in sci-fi movies. COVID! It’s like a swear word these days and one we would rather not talk about. This year after a well-deserved rest, I hope we all were lucky to have, we need to launch ourselves forward with positivity and inner motivation to achieve our goals and aspirations. May it be in our personal lives and professional ones too. Things you can do to kick start the process: Apply for that job you have been dreaming of. Research what your next move should be. Register for your studies you have put off the last year due to the workload. Enforce that structure into your life to create the balance between work and home life. Whatever you have been dreaming or voicing your concerns on in 2022, 2023 is now the time to get moving on making them a reality. Start simple and work your…
2022 has been a year we can all say was challenging. As we near the festive season and start to wind down for our holiday festivities and a well-deserved break, we can’t but think of “Wow! What a long and hard year this was.” We started the year in ‘good ol’ lock down mode with Covid running wild however in no time at all restrictions lifted, no masks, no more vaccination requirements and life was getting back on track for most. So many excited, happy and hopeful smiles were seen once again. 😁 Companies were running full speed ahead and staff were returning into the office again. (Not that this was a welcome change to the remote working rule for some. 😉) This year we have encountered very different types of challenges and candidates reasons for leaving have been a lot different to pre-covid times. First challenge was definitely Covid, Vaccination policies, Loadshedding (with no light at the end of the tunnel for us), Flooding, Political upheaval all of which made it rather difficult to find candidates willing to make the move under all these conditions. Our most heard reasons for leaving from our candidates were definitely: “I would like…
Picture having your morning coffee with a breathtaking view of a landscape of ice, glistening freshwater lakes and rocky terrain while cosily tucked away in your hi-tech and luxurious interior designed camping pod. And to top it off, this is your workplace. Yes, that’s what dream jobs are made of and sometimes they do come true. One of our candidate’s will be jetting off to the continent of Antarctica and if he had failed to keep applying, he would have missed out on his new job adventure – an opportunity of a lifetime. Don’t quit the job hunt and keep applying, as behind one closed door, another could open to a career you’ve always been dreaming of The term job hunt is called that for the very reason it physically requires one to scour job sites and to keep applying to as many different positions until you find what matches your skillset or desired job. It can be tedious and what feels like a closed door in your face, every time you receive unsuccessful feedback. In Recruitment circles, these perceived “failures” such as candidates not turning up for an interview without any notification, is a natural part of the job.…
Regular feedback: A critical tool to gain a competitive edge in business & strengthen hybrid/remote staff and client relations Utilising feedback sessions serves as a critical tool in post-pandemic business models to gain a competitive edge by strengthening staff and productivity. With more companies having adopted a hybrid or remote working environment, there is an obvious disconnect when it comes to the human element. With less physical interaction where mostly everyone is no longer collectively in the same space at the same time, video platforms are now where team chats, interviews and meetings take place. The provision of a communication channel or way to have regular catchups, is especially useful to maintain some sort of team synergy and ultimately, ensure that your company performs optimally with or without a concrete office. Bridge the gap with regular check-ins As a fully remote operation itself, we here at Datafin have become more aware of the effectiveness of having regular check-ins with our clients and candidates alike. Human connection is at the heart of our business, and we need to get a feel for the people we deal with. Since Covid, many candidates have more introspection and want to know aspects such as…